February 27, 2025
It’s hard to believe it’s been ten years since a small group of dedicated pioneers decided to brave the Manchester rain and launched a bold vision to bring the unique Equal Experts model to the North. Now, more than a decade on, that spark has grown into a thriving network of over 500 consultants, helping customers drive innovation across the region.
From our first base in Manchester’s thriving tech scene to our recent expansion into the emerging innovation hotspots of Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle, we’ve been privileged to help some of the biggest and most well-known organisations in the UK tackle complex business problems through technology. From our long-lasting partnership with HMRC and using tech for good with HACE to transforming digital experiences with the Co-Op and MoneySupermarket, the last ten years have been an incredible journey. Every project has taught us something new and every partnership has helped us grow.
So, when we decided to host a celebration event to mark the milestone occasion, we knew we wanted to invite not just our employees, but our wider consultant network and customers. Everything we do is an experiment but we wanted to try bringing the broader network together to connect and learn more from each other.
Gathering at Manchester’s iconic Albert Hall on 6th February, the anniversary event included a look back on the past decade including special highlights and memories alongside keynote speeches from network alumni and former clients.
Andy Gray and James Morgan shared their journey from Equal Experts associates to becoming clients with us. The alumni pair explored their move from Equal Experts consultant into roles with KnownOrigin and eBay, including why they jumped at the opportunity to work with Equal Experts again as customers.
Mike Potter, a former client of Equal Experts with HMRC, spoke passionately about the value of communities and the incredible benefits that can be gained when people form networks. He said: “When we build communities where people can seek support, share guidance, exchange ideas and find accelerators, we build confidence in the things that we’re doing. A huge part of it is the building and sharing of knowledge and making it open source so everyone can share it.”
Mike then joined a special panel featuring some of our esteemed customers who spoke about their experiences working with Equal Experts over the years and gave us insights into ways we can continue to grow and mature our client offerings into our second decade. Hosted by Equal Experts consultant Neha Datt, the panel also included:
From humble beginnings, we’ve grown to the largest business unit in Equal Experts. But that has only been possible because we’re building on the work done by those original pioneers. Our whole business is based on people and relationships – we do some amazing techy stuff, but it’s the people and the relationships that matter.
A final word of thanks to everyone who has been part of the Equal Experts UK North journey in the past ten years – including our customers, consultants and the wider technology community. Your expertise, collaboration and traditional Northern grit continue to inspire us to deliver great software and enable long-lasting innovation.
All business models have their pros and cons. But, when you consider the type of problems we help our clients to solve at Equal Experts, it’s worth thinking about the level of experience and the best consultancy approach to solve them.
If you’d like to find out more about working with us – get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.
